Teignmouth Melvill VC (8 September 1842 – 22 January 1879) was an officer in the British Army and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Details

The son of

Philip Melvill Philip Melvill (7 April 1762 – 27 October 1811)''Memoirs of the Late Philip Melvill, Esq. Lieut. Gov. of Pendennis Castle, Cornwall : With an Appendix Containing Extracts From His Diaries and Letters Selected by a Friend...together with Two Let ...

, he was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

, Cheltenham School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was a contributor to '' Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes'' under the name 'Green Facings.' He was 36 years old, and a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion, 24th Regiment of Foot (later The South Wales Borderers), British Army during the Anglo-Zulu War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 22 January 1879 after the disaster of the Battle of Isandhlwana, South Africa, Lieutenant Melvill made efforts to save the Queen's Colour of his regiment. He and

Nevill Josiah Aylmer Coghill Nevill Josiah Aylmer Coghill VC (25 January 1852 – 22 January 1879) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth fo ...

were pursued by Zulu warriors and after experiencing great difficulty in crossing the swollen Buffalo River, during which time the Colour was lost and carried downstream, the two men were overtaken by the enemy and following a short struggle both were killed. The Colour was retrieved from the river ten days later. Melvill and Coghill were amongst the first soldiers to receive the VC posthumously in 1907. Initially the London Gazette mentioned that had they survived they would have been awarded the VC. He was played by James Faulkner in the film '' Zulu Dawn''.IMDB
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Teignmouth Philip Melvill Teignmouth Philip Melvill (13 February 1877 – 12 December 1951) was an English champion polo player. Biography Melvill was the son of Teignmouth Melvill, a recipient of the Victoria Cross. He played for England against the United States in ...

(1877–1951) polo player, and Charles Melvill (1878–1925) a major general, were his sons.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh in Brecon, Powys, Wales.

Notes

References

External links

Teignmouth MELVILL of Cheltenham College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melvill, Teignmouth British recipients of the Victoria Cross South Wales Borderers officers People educated at Cheltenham College 1842 births 1879 deaths Anglo-Zulu War recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel killed in the Anglo-Zulu War People from Marylebone People educated at Harrow School British Army personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Teignmouth